Company asks judge to reject tribal plea on Dakota Access pipeline

Tom Stromme / AP

In this Feb. 13, 2017, aerial file photo shows the site where the final phase of the Dakota Access Pipeline will take place with boring equipment routing the pipeline underground and across Lake Oahe to connect with the existing pipeline in Emmons County near Cannon Ball, N.D.

In this Feb. 13, 2017, aerial file photo shows the site where the final phase of the Dakota Access Pipeline will take place with boring equipment routing the pipeline underground and across Lake Oahe to connect with the existing pipeline in Emmons County near Cannon Ball, N.D.

The company building the Dakota Access pipeline has asked a federal judge to reject the latest attempt by two American Indian tribes to halt the project.

Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners says in court documents filed late Monday that it has suffered enough delays and that the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes are employing "a last-gasp litigation tactic."

The tribes have appealed a decision by federal Judge James Boasberg to not stop construction of the pipeline's final segment under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota they consider sacred. They've asked Boasberg to stop oil from flowing through the four-state pipeline until the appeal is resolved.

The company says crews expect to finish construction and conduct final testing this week, and that oil could flow as soon as Monday.